Some families of the dead say Massey Energy hasn't reached out to them

Coal mine explosion kills 25 miners; four remain unaccounted for

Montcoal, West Virginia (CNN) -- Rescue workers began drilling a hole Tuesday toward where they believe four miners may be located more than a day after a blast killed 25 others in a coal mine here.

"There's a sliver of hope, but we know that the odds are not in our favor," West Virginia Gov. Joe Manchin told CNN.

"Everyone's going to cling to the hope of a miracle," he told reporters. "That is the true agony of this."

One of four drills had already begun its 1,100-foot descent to open a 6-inch hole in a ceiling of the mine, said Chris Adkins, CEO of Massey Energy Co., owner of the Upper Big Branch South Mine where Monday's fatal blast occurred.

He said mine officials were 90 percent certain of where the four men are and predicted that it would take rescuers no more than five hours to find them once air levels have become safe.

"It's a very dire situation," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-West Virginia, who said he had spoken with relatives who were waiting for word. "They're almost a little bit numb in their grief, and it's very sad."

Before they were forced back by the dangerous gases, rescue crews had gone into the mine and attempted to reach the mine's airtight rescue chambers, which miners are trained to enter in case of a disaster. The chambers are stocked with four days' worth of food and water.

Crews noticed a number of self-contained rescue breathing devices had been taken from storage areas, fueling hope that any survivors may have taken them en route to the rescue chambers.

But Kevin Stricklin of the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration was not optimistic.

"Based on what I'm seeing and hearing from the people underground, I don't think they had an opportunity to get to [the rescue chambers]," he said. "All of these things were good to have in place. Unfortunately, this happened so quickly and it was so strong of a force that I don't think they had the opportunity to utilize any of that."

Monday's explosion, the deadliest U.S. mining disaster in 25 years, took place during a shift change. Its cause was unknown, but state and federal officials pledged a thorough investigation. The mine is about 30 miles south of Charleston, West Virginia.

"Twenty-five hardworking men died needlessly in a mine yesterday," U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis said in a written statement. "I pledge that their deaths will not be in vain."

At the White House, President Obama said prayers were being offered for the safe return of the missing as well as the rescuers.

Of the miners, he said, "May their families find comfort in the days ahead."

West Virginia's other U.S. senator, Robert Byrd, referenced the mine's safety record.

"At least 25 coal miners have died inside a mine that has over time amassed scores of safety violations, including 57 violations just last month," Byrd said in a written statement. "West Virginia's coal miners are the backbone of a great nation that depends on their work. They deserve nothing less than a safe working environment, and an employer who respects and values their safety."

Three other deaths have occurred in the mine over the past 12 years. This year alone, the mine was cited for more than 100 safety violations, including ventilation violations, according to federal records.

In a statement issued Monday night, the company said, "Our top priority is the safety of our miners and the well-being of their families."

The company operates 44 underground and surface mines and controls 2.2 billion tons of coal reserves in West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Tennessee.

A post on Massey's Web site touts the company's safety record, saying 2009 "marked the sixth consecutive year and the 17th year out of the past 20 years in which Massey's safety performance was stronger than the industry average."

But some relatives of miners were unimpressed with the company's safety record and its handling of the disaster.

"We want to know why we have not been contacted," said Michelle McKinney, whose father, Benny Willingham, was among the dead. "No one from Massey has called my mother or any of us children or his mother. He still has a mother that is home grieving. We don't know where my dad's body is at."

Later Tuesday, Manchin told reporters he and a Massey representative had met with the miners' families. When told that some family members had not been contacted, the representative apologized, Manchin said.

While hope for the remaining four miners may have been dwindling, many people recalled the story of Randal McCloy Jr., a miner in the 2006 blast at the Sago Mine, also in West Virginia.

He and 12 other miners spent more than 40 hours underground before rescue teams reached them. McCloy was the sole survivor. Hospitalized for nearly three months, he underwent treatment for neurological and physical damage caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Sago incident and a blast in Kentucky in 2006 were among those that led to passage of a sweeping safety overhaul of the U.S. mining industry.

The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response, or MINER Act, requires more oxygen supplies underground; stronger seals on abandoned mine shafts; two-way communication throughout a mine; and the establishment of the rescue chambers, among other things.

Rockefeller said the act may need strengthening.

"I was just rereading that statute as I was coming over, and there are some empty places there," he said. "We have to pull ourselves together and figure out what can you do to make sure this never happens again."

Last year was the U.S. mining industry's safest ever, with 18 deaths. Before Monday's explosion, two miners had died in 2010.

Willingham's sister, Jean, said her brother had been a miner for more than 30 years and loved it.

"He said in church the other day ... he thanked the Lord for saving his soul, and he thanked him for watching over him in the mines for over 30 years. And he said, 'If he takes me tomorrow, I've had a good life.' "

CNN's Alta Spells, Brooke Baldwin and John Roberts contributed to this report.